Why We’re Passionate About Fintech

Written by YapStone

Technology //February 27

If you ask most young people what career they want to pursue after college, you’ll probably get a variety of responses. Repeat the same question with the prefix “if money were no object,” and you’ll notice that the answers change. But why should that be?

We’re conditioned from an early age to follow the career path that will lead to a good job, steady paycheck, or even long term security. Many have probably abandoned a passion or interest for a solid job. But, here’s the thing. If you’re not passionate about what you do, or if you can’t find a way to transform your passion into a paycheck, then odds are that it may be a challenge to find true satisfaction in your career choice.

No one changes the world, builds a multi-million dollar company or disrupts an industry by playing it safe, getting the BA in Business and then tapping the company’s 401k plan. As a nice sweeping generalization, the prevailing argument of what fuels an entrepreneur is passion. It runs through the veins of most successful entrepreneurs, business owners and genuinely content individuals who are on the path to their dream, purpose or calling. Think about it this way – about one third of the average person’s life is spent working. That’s a lot of time, so you might as well find something that gets you excited to get out of bed and get at it.

And to be clear, this is not about jumping on board the latest trend or chasing the mighty dollar. This is about finding passion and a clear purpose. At our company, YapStone, we are often asked the questions why was the company founded? What makes you different? What is your mission?

Yapstone was started with a simple vision and goal to solve an everyday problem: to eliminate the paper check and make it easier to pay bills online. Seventeen years later, we’re on our way to changing the way the world pays by approaching everything we do with an entrepreneurial spirit and leveraging the innate passion for what we do.

So, what ignites our passion for Fintech? The YapStone executive team shares their passion and excitement for Fintech and payments.

“I’m passionate about Fintech and what we do at YapStone because it goes beyond just payments – it’s about enabling and accelerating commerce on a global scale. We create a frictionless eCommerce experience for buyers and sellers in large marketplaces, such as HomeAway & VRBO, and for every day bills like rent that have traditionally been paid by check.” – Tom Villante, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder

“With my experience with both traditional banking and technology companies, I have found that the marrying of banking with disruptive technology is so exciting and creates a real ability for me to be involved in changing people’s lives. Fintech encourages, and demands outside the box thinking, and continually tests my ability to keep Yapstone at the forefront of Fintech. Working in an ever-changing environment like this keeps the creative juices flowing and I look back at the end of the week and wonder, ‘where did that week go?’” -Peter Rowan, VP, International Operations and Global Customer Support

“Today more than ever, society values maximizing personal time and social interactions. And Fintech companies use this types of insights to develop products that adapt to these social trends.
For example, the introduction of apps and digital services now allow travelers to search, book, and pay for vacations quickly and efficiently. The fact that is also a safe and secure method is directly contributing to the explosive growth in travel. The Fintech culture of recognizing the need to innovate and develop flexible solutions without limiting ourselves to legacy bias or technology limitations is what drives my passion for Fintech.” -Michael Gramz, Chief Risk Officer

“I have been fortunate to work in both the financial services sector and the technology sector. Fintech is the convergence of these sectors and for me, it’s the best of both worlds – assisting consumers or businesses with a variety of financial needs. By embracing and building technology to change the behavior of businesses and consumers, Fintech can truly be transformative and not too many industries can make that claim. It’s this transformative innovation which is beyond inspiring to me.” -Debra Tenenbaum, Chief People Officer

“FinTech has become interwoven within the fabric of innovation that is occurring in the world right now. What once was a standalone industry (payments) is now a part of the new innovation in commerce and we are tasked with assisting in that innovation by making payments simple, safe and always accessible.” -Bruce Dragt, SVP of Product

“Because every innovation is a venture into unexplored territory, you’re not confined to any parameters when you work in Fintech. Chances are, the solution or product hasn’t been built before. Fintech challenges require us to use of sides of our brains – to think critically and creatively – and that is a very exciting place to be.” -Troy Scarlott, SVP of Marketing

“I’m passionate about FinTech because it’s challenging, fun and helps people. We have the opportunity to meet people’s needs in different ways, to offer innovative, time-saving solutions that go beyond online banking and safely give consumers more visibility, control and convenience in satisfying their payment needs. That lets people spend less time on check-writing and paying bills, and more time doing what they love.” -David Durant, General Counsel

“Fintech is constantly breaking down the competitive barriers that have existed in traditional finance for a long time and democratizing the playing field between incumbents and the new challengers. The successful companies of the future will harness the technology innovation to provide frictionless services to their customers. At Yapstone we are constantly exploiting technology breakthroughs to leapfrog competition and staying nimble to adapt to constantly changing business needs.” – Saran Mandair, VP of Production Operations and Global IT

Fintech has become one of the hottest industries around. But, take a tip from us: don’t get into this industry because it’s trendy, or you think that’s where the smart money lies. Start your career in Fintech because you’re an innovative thinker, you’re inspired by evolving technology, or you love the idea of solving big problems. And most important of all, work in Fintech because you’re truly passionate about it.